Scan barcode
timelapse's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
a very very memorable and hard-hitting book for me. there's so much ground covered and so much to think about but some themes that stood out to me: the weight of a name and how it becomes you and you become it in turn (intentionally or coincidentally); the love and hate we feel towards abusive and unlovable people in our inner circle, and why we may not be able to / want to untangle ourselves from them; abuse and how it bleeds into every corner of your life and eats away at your sense of self; and the beauty and defiance of simply persisting.
i've been more hurried with trying to cover more ground with books i read, but this one makes me want to go back and savor this later. in particular, i want to eventually revisit the refrain "i'll go on" (계속해보겠습니다) throughout the novel, as it's such a versatile and evocative one.
this not a happy book by any means, nor do i think any of the characters (save naghi) are even lovable, but nana and aeja have been some of my favorite characters i've read in a long time. it also reminded me of a far more depressing version of banana yoshimoto's kitchen with certain themes of food and the slight distance from the narrators, but the storytelling and characters resonated a lot more intimately for me.
and one final note: this is not something i notice in books before but this book was VERY well translated, it had the perfect amt of localization to be wonderfully understandable, but you can almost hear the author's original voice in korean.
i've been more hurried with trying to cover more ground with books i read, but this one makes me want to go back and savor this later. in particular, i want to eventually revisit the refrain "i'll go on" (계속해보겠습니다) throughout the novel, as it's such a versatile and evocative one.
this not a happy book by any means, nor do i think any of the characters (save naghi) are even lovable, but nana and aeja have been some of my favorite characters i've read in a long time. it also reminded me of a far more depressing version of banana yoshimoto's kitchen with certain themes of food and the slight distance from the narrators, but the storytelling and characters resonated a lot more intimately for me.
and one final note: this is not something i notice in books before but this book was VERY well translated, it had the perfect amt of localization to be wonderfully understandable, but you can almost hear the author's original voice in korean.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence and Homophobia
Minor: Alcoholism and Death of parent
More...